Read me again Taxi Egg. I said when four out of five choose NOT to enter

It's a winter competition Marauder as currently structured. And 80% of winter sides don't want to know. That's the immediate problem. Any decent administration would have been asking questions why long before now.......

It';s a cup competition open to any club associated with BARLA, it just happens to be run during the winter at the moment.

Carlsberg don't do Soldiers, but if they did, they would probably be Brits.

its going to be interesting once the 2nd round gets underway, scheduled for 2nd march. how appropriate that it clashes with the opening round of games for the ncl. sometimes i wonder if these arrangements are purposely put in place to cause the most conflict/ disruption. i wonder what plans leigh miners, if they progress from round 1, and leigh east have as progression in the cup clashes with ncl league games. unless the rules have changed and the barla cup fixture has precedance over the league fixture, therefore a postponement. last year saw siddal progress to the latter rounds and with a 92-0 drubbing at leigh miners, surely this had and has great ramifications to the ncl league positions, therefore making a farce of the league.

it ll be interesting what decisions have/ need to be made both from the clubs involved and the ncl commitee.

its going to be interesting once the 2nd round gets underway, scheduled for 2nd march. how appropriate that it clashes with the opening round of games for the ncl. sometimes i wonder if these arrangements are purposely put in place to cause the most conflict/ disruption. i wonder what plans leigh miners, if they progress from round 1, and leigh east have as progression in the cup clashes with ncl league games. unless the rules have changed and the barla cup fixture has precedance over the league fixture, therefore a postponement. last year saw siddal progress to the latter rounds and with a 92-0 drubbing at leigh miners, surely this had and has great ramifications to the ncl league positions, therefore making a farce of the league.

it ll be interesting what decisions have/ need to be made both from the clubs involved and the ncl commitee.

I wonder why a competition thats has been run at this time of the year for the last 40 years by BARLA all of a sudden been arranged to cause disruption to the NCL.

Carlsberg don't do Soldiers, but if they did, they would probably be Brits.

And like i posted perhaps the four out of five who choose not to enter,do so because they cant be pitched against the perceived big boys ie the NCL clubs . Quite simple really Peter .

Not simple at all Taxi Egg.

Perhaps you can explain the downward spiral in numbers that has occurred over at least the last half dozen years.?

Remember that it is only since September 2011 that the NCL in moving to summer left no vacant dates for the National Cup. Before that NCL clubs could be accommodated if they wanted to compete (unlike the County Cups )

Both NCL and regional clubs have been voting with their feet for a long time now..........

When your second team beats Methley , I hope they're not drawn away to the likes of Sharlston , Queens or Fryston to name but a few

Perhaps you can explain the downward spiral in numbers that has occurred over at least the last half dozen years.?

Remember that it is only since September 2011 that the NCL in moving to summer left no vacant dates for the National Cup. Before that NCL clubs could be accommodated if they wanted to compete (unlike the County Cups )

Both NCL and regional clubs have been voting with their feet for a long time now..........

When your second team beats Methley , I hope they're not drawn away to the likes of Sharlston , Queens or Fryston to name but a few

Don't under estimate Methley, and the simple reason clubs from lower down the pecking order don't go into the National Cup is simply financial and to protect players against injury if drawn against NCL/Premier Regional sides.

Carlsberg don't do Soldiers, but if they did, they would probably be Brits.

Don't under estimate Methley, and the simple reason clubs from lower down the pecking order don't go into the National Cup is simply financial and to protect players against injury if drawn against NCL/Premier Regional sides.

I'm not Marauder. My post was a bit tongue in cheek and sorry if I have left an impression of 'dissing ' anyone.

The point I am trying to make is that no way will Leigh Miners not turn out their First Team for their first NCL match. Siddal took half a season to recover from that disaster at Twiss Lane last year and lost the minor Prem as a direct consequence. Everyone learned a lesson that day. So it will be the Reserves , and if they go through there are some potential , shall we say , 'difficult ' away days on offer.....

And yes I agree with you about the lower clubs. Would it not be a more attractive proposition therefore to concentrate the Cup on them to the exclusion of the biggest guys ? Maybe then the Competition would get back to the 100 plus entrants it used to enjoy......

Taxi Egg you well know that the NCL are not bothered about the strength of the side you put out in your first league game but we all know it will be your best one.

Maxwell you have a strong set up and at this time of the year your squads are probably at their biggest . I expect you to beat Methley.and progress. How your club thereafter approaches what could be a short dash to the Final will be intriguing.

Your neighbours Leigh East , now playing out of Div 2 may take a serious punt and still expect to achieve promotion. No such room in the Premiers for sure. Should be interesting though.

And yes Maxwell Twist lane it is - don't think i need to put it in my Sat Nav for 4th Feb ........

I'm not Marauder. My post was a bit tongue in cheek and sorry if I have left an impression of 'dissing ' anyone.

The point I am trying to make is that no way will Leigh Miners not turn out their First Team for their first NCL match. Siddal took half a season to recover from that disaster at Twiss Lane last year and lost the minor Prem as a direct consequence. Everyone learned a lesson that day. So it will be the Reserves , and if they go through there are some potential , shall we say , 'difficult ' away days on offer.....

And yes I agree with you about the lower clubs. Would it not be a more attractive proposition therefore to concentrate the Cup on them to the exclusion of the biggest guys ? Maybe then the Competition would get back to the 100 plus entrants it used to enjoy......

A good coach will now the strength of his squad and will target certain games and competitions, may be Easts coach has targetted the National Cup.

Carlsberg don't do Soldiers, but if they did, they would probably be Brits.

There is no democracy at the RFL and the Community Board set up is a clear example of that , even if Barla did take something to the Table the way the CB is constructed they would just simply get blackballed by people on the CB who do not want Barla to play any part in the future of the game .

And could any one tell me when the posistions on the CB are up for re-election ?

Perhaps you can explain the downward spiral in numbers that has occurred over at least the last half dozen years.?

Remember that it is only since September 2011 that the NCL in moving to summer left no vacant dates for the National Cup. Before that NCL clubs could be accommodated if they wanted to compete (unlike the County Cups )

Both NCL and regional clubs have been voting with their feet for a long time now..........

When your second team beats Methley , I hope they're not drawn away to the likes of Sharlston , Queens or Fryston to name but a few

The spiral in the National cup is partly down to the stubbiness of the NCL committee not permitting time in the calendar for teams to participate in what still is the only cup open to all amatures so the winners can with pride say they beat all comers and can be crown the best in the country. albeit tongue and cheek I don’t think any NCL club would relish the thought of going to the likes of Queens, Sharlston and Fryson to mention a few going of recent form,

The spiral in the National cup is partly down to the stubbiness of the NCL committee not permitting time in the calendar for teams to participate in what still is the only cup open to all amatures so the winners can with pride say they beat all comers and can be crown the best in the country. albeit tongue and cheek I don’t think any NCL club would relish the thought of going to the likes of Queens, Sharlston and Fryson to mention a few going of recent form,

the last three national cups from memory, there are a lot of good players and teams playing outside the NCL and the national cup is the only way you can compere unless im mistaken,

the NCL have the best facilities and you would argue the best run clubs but can we really argue we have the best team taking the results of the national cup into conssideration over the last few years,

and without starting the summer debate off again you have to do some convincing that the standards of the game wont suffer with fewer player available especially in the peak of summer

the last three national cups from memory, there are a lot of good players and teams playing outside the NCL and the national cup is the only way you can compere unless im mistaken,

the NCL have the best facilities and you would argue the best run clubs but can we really argue we have the best team taking the results of the national cup into conssideration over the last few years,

and without starting the summer debate off again you have to do some convincing that the standards of the game wont suffer with fewer player available especially in the peak of summer

easier for players to lift games every 3-4 weeks for a cup match, most games in the regional leagues can be none existent from one week to next, only had to look at queens results in the yorkshire league. ive never suggested that there arent good players/ teams in the regionals, just saying that on a weekly basis competition can be less.

the last 3 national cups 'from memory' havent contained many sides from the ncl, the last 2 anyway, so comparisons between regional and ncl sides is pretty negligible.

oh and this years 'national' cup, how it can be called national now is anyones guess, more like down sized yorkshire cup, is scheduled mid june, how will these winter league teams/players cope in mid summer with all players on holiday/stag dos and days out. hopefully the final doesnt clash with any of these events, could be a disaster the way some winter, dash yorkshire folk , portray the summer months problems.